With just 40.5 per cent of the popular vote, PC leader Doug Ford has won a 76-seat majority government in Ontario's 124-seat legislature.

Among the key issues of concern we have already identified with his agenda:

1- his opposition to a universal single-payer pharmacare program, 2- his promise to find "efficiencies" in the province's public health care system, 3- his support for the bottled water industry, very likely including permits for continued Nestle bottled-water takings in southern Ontario, 4- his opposition to the Green Energy Act that encouraged renewable energy in the province, 5- his promise to "cut red tape and stifling regulations", which is often code for cuts to environmental protections.

Ford has also promised to scrap the planned minimum wage increase, to cut the corporate tax rate, to reduce government spending by $6 billion over three years by finding "efficiencies", and "to uphold free speech on campuses and in classrooms" (worrisome given the support he has received from white supremacist groups).

By contrast, we call for public investments in green infrastructure, universal access to prescribed medicines, the protection of water sources, recognition of Indigenous rights, fair taxation, public ownership, public services, strengthening workers' rights, electoral reform, inclusiveness and equality, and constraints on corporate power.

The next Ontario election won't be until June 9, 2022 so we have a lot of work to do to stop Ford's agenda over the next four years.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet were sworn in today at Queen's Park. Who are some of the key cabinet ministers with major responsibilities that we will be keeping watch on in the days and weeks to come?

- Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, and Minister of Indigenous Affairs As Stephen Harper's minister of natural resources Rickford refused to commit the federal dollars needed to complete the construction of Freedom Road for Shoal Lake 40. NDP MPP-elect Sara Singh says having a "part-time" minister devoted to Indigenous relations is just "not good enough".

- Christine Elliott, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and Deputy Premier As the party's health critic, Elliott has supported the private sector playing a bigger role in the health care system, including services such as MRIs, home care, cataract surgeries and dialysis treatment.

- Rod Phillips, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Phillips has served as both the chair of Postmedia, which includes the Ottawa Citizen and the National Post, and the CEO of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. This ministry was previously known as the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change.

- Jim Wilson, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade Wilson was previously the Minister of Health then the Minister of Energy, Science and Technology under Premier Mike Harris. Ford has indicated that NAFTA will be a key priority for his government.

- Peter Bethlenfalvy, President of the Treasury Board Bethlenfalvy was the chief investment officer at CST Consultants Inc., has been a senior vice-president of financial regulations at Manulife Financial, and is a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s services research initiative.

- Laurie Scott, Minister of Labour As an MPP, Scott said there is no point in increasing the minimum wage if employees don't have jobs to go to and furthermore promised a PC government would "rip up" the Green Energy Act.

The full list of Ford's cabinet ministers can be seen here [ https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/ ... ip-rivals/ ]. TVO also comments, "The Ford cabinet is overwhelmingly white and male: of the 21 ministers (seven fewer than in Wynne’s last cabinet), only seven are women, and only one — Raymond Cho, minister responsible for seniors’ affairs — is a person of colour."

A People's Rally on Queen's Park is now being organized for Saturday July 14 in which "young people, old people, academics, activists, workers, artists, healthcare professionals, teachers, parents, and everyday people from all over the province will come together to call for robust public services and to call for equity in public policy decisions." [ https://www.evensi.ca/people-rally-queen-park/260904370 ]